Breastplate black-out lantern



April 1945' R. 1.. MANN I 2,373,131

BREAST-PLATE BLACKOUT LANTERN Filed June 22, 1942 LAMP BATTERY INVENTOR 3 I RICHARD I I ff Patented Apr. 10, 1945 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 1 Claim.

(Granted under the act of March 3, 1883, as amended April 30, 1928; 3'70 0. G. 757) The device herein disclosed is a screened breast lantern for use in blackouts, to be worn by anyone desirous of getting about out-of-doors, performing work or reading messages, plans, etc., without producing sufiicient light to be noticeable to aircraft. It is intended for use during blackouts by fire watchers, emergency repair crews, police, sentries and others whose duties require them to be out-of-doors.

With the foregoing and other objects in view, the invention consists in the construction, combination and arrangement of parts hereinafter described and illustrated in the drawing, in which:

Fig. 1 is a 'side View in section of the preferred form of the invention.

Fig. 2 is a front view thereof.

Fig. 3 is a top view; and

Fig. 4 shows the wiring arrangement.

In the drawing, represents the casing, 2 the hinged cover with aperture 3, having a translucent screen 4, and hood 5 integral therewith.

Space is provided in the casing for a battery 6, preferably of the 4 /2 volt A type (Eveready No. 746 or equivalent), a flashlight base 1, wire connections 8, as shown in Figs. 1 and 4, as well as brackets 9 to M inclusive, for these connections and base, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2. The connections are preferably of 2 conductor No. 16 insulated wire and are soldered at the terminals except at the battery, where the usual clips as are provided. The casing has knurled thumb nuts l5 for holding the cover in closed position, the cover being hingedat IS. A toggle switch I! is located in the bottom of the casing and is mounted behind a switch guard I8 to protect it against accidental operation and to hide it from view from the front. A light baflie 19 to prevent any light shining directly on the front of the cover, is mounted under the aperture and held by means of a machine screw 20 which also serves to clamp a strip 2| which holds the screen in place in the cover, as may be seen in Fig. 1. The lamp 22 may be a Mazda 3.8 v. flashlight, or equivalent.

One form of means for suspending the lamp in front of the wearer is shown in Fig. 2. The casing has clips or brackets 23 on each side. Split rings 24 are passed therethrough and a pair of adiustable straps 25, 26, having swivelled snaphooks 21 at their ends is attached to the rings, as shown. The strap 25 goes up and around the back of the neck, while the strap 28 is passed around the back of the person wearing the lamp, the straps being properly adjusted as to length.

All the outer parts are preferably given a dull black finish. The casing and cover may be made of 22 gauge steel with a black crackle finish over all. The screen may be ground, frosted or cloudy white glass or translucent plastic.

The light intensity is determined by the transmission characteristic of the aperture and is intended to be sufiiciently'low so that the illuminated area on the ground Will not be noticeable from aircraft. The latern illustrated was tested and found to produce an illumination of approximately 0.9 foot-candle at a distance of one foot on a plane normal to the axis through the aperture. The illumination on the ground, when the lantern is worn in the normal position, is a few thousandths of a foot-candle. This illumination is suflicient to outline the path of the wearer and enable him to perform rough work. A blueprint is legible when held within a foot of the lantern. An observer standing thirty feet in front and on a level with the wearer can see nothing of the source and no more than a faint glow of illumination on the ground.

Other modifications and changes in the number and proportions of the parts may be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the nature of this invention, within the scope of what is hereinafter claimed.

The invention described herein may be manufactured and used by or for the Government of the United States of America. for governmental purposes without the payment of any royalties thereon or therefor.

What I claim is:

In a lamp to be worn against the front of the body, a case, a light bulb at the upper end of the case extending in front of the front face of said case, an opaque strip below said bulb extending upwardly at an angle t said face to shield the latter from direct rays of light from said bulb, a translucent screen in front and below the bulb extending from said strip upwardly at an angle away from said face so as to transmit light from said bulb downwardly and forwardly, and a hood extending forwardly and downwardly from the top of said case over the bulb'and screen and around the sides to a level belowthe lower edge of said screen, thus assuring protection against any direct light rays or reflections thereof from said face being projected in any direction above the horizontal, while providing ample lighting in the immediate vicinity at the feet and in front of the wearer.

RICHARD L. MANN. 

